My Refuge
by dazzledxdarlingx
Summary: Shortly after graduating from Stanford, Gabriella finds herself a victim of rape. Now pregnant with her rapist’s child, she seeks a new life in New York City. To her surprise, her new OB is the guy she used to go to for refuge so many years ago. TxG.
1. Chapter 1

**My Refuge**

Summary: Five years after graduating from Stanford, Gabriella finds herself a victim of rape. Now pregnant with her rapist's child, she seeks a new life in New York City. To her surprise, her new obstetrician is the guy she used to go to for refuge so many years ago…Troyella.

Disclaimer: I only own original characters and settings. The rest of them belong to Disney and the writer of High School Musical. By the way, the Ryan in this story is not Ryan Evans. It's a different Ryan.

Author's Note: Okay, I've decided to start an original piece, which means that I have not read or come across any stories similar to this. This also means that I will know if someone uses my idea, which wouldn't be a smart thing to do. Haha, so yeah, I think I've made you wait enough, haven't I? On to the story, which, by the way, may not be updated every day because I have a life outside of being on my computer all day and because I'm in my first year of college. Also, I have decided to delete my previous story because I couldn't get a grasp on its storyline. Sorry about that, for those that read it. This one seems to have a better storyline, and I've graphed it out for myself, so I should be able to finish this one.

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Chapter One:

Twenty-six year old Gabriella Montez anxiously tapped her foot as she sat in the waiting room in her new obstetrician's office. Dr. Carlyle had assured her that, although this doctor was new to the profession, he was very kind and very caring about his patients. She hadn't caught the new doctor's name, but she'd come out of pure curiosity for her first appointment with him. _As long as he's not Ryan, I'm going to be patient and trust him_, she thought to herself. She cringed as a flashback overcame her, causing her eyes to tear up. The night she'd been raped raced through her mind, and it wasn't until it was over that she noticed she'd curled up into a ball in the hard plastic seat in the doctor's office. She was known to be protective of herself, and the rape hadn't been easy on her self esteem. Her life goal was to protect others, to defend similar victims in court. That's why she'd gone to Stanford, to become a lawyer. She hadn't expected to become a victim herself- which is what had brought her to New York in the first place. It was far enough away from Ryan- from California, even- so that she could begin anew. She'd found a law firm a few blocks away from her new apartment, and she promised herself that after her baby was born, she would try her very best to focus on finding an opening and supporting her small family.

"Gabriella Montez?" a melodic voice called from the doorway. Gabriella looked up to see a nurse smiling at her sympathetically. "We have a room ready for you."

Gabriella nodded and stood up, shaking slightly as she grasped her purse to her chest and followed the nurse to a small white room filled with health posters and medical supplies. The nurse helped to sit on the bed that had been provided for her, and she sighed as she slipped her shoes off after being instructed to do so. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm not usually like this."

"It's perfectly fine, dear. You know, the doctor isn't all that scary," the nurse assured her, smiling. "I promise."

Gabriella smiled a little. "Okay," she replied, still shaking from her flashback.

"I just have a few questions about your previous health conditions and your background, and Doctor will be in to see you in about ten minutes. Sound good?" the nurse asked. When Gabriella nodded, she continued. "Okay, then…estimate for me how far along you are in your pregnancy."

Without hesitation, Gabriella answered, "Twelve weeks. My previous doctor told me while I was on the phone with him this morning."

"Very good," the nurse responded as she recorded Gabriella's answer on her sheet. "And when was your last ultrasound?"

"Um," Gabriella said. "A month ago?"

The nurse nodded. "We'll have Doctor check for you, and if that's correct, we'll run one on you while you're here today. I think he's also going to run a vaginal exam as well."

Gabriella blushed, but nodded. "Okay."

"One last question before I send Doctor in. Who is the father of your child?"

"Um," she said again, her voice shaking. "All I know is that his first name is Ryan."

"Okay, that's fine. Doctor will be in soon," the nurse smiled warmly at her one last time before walking out of the room and placing her chart in its holder.

Being alone gave Gabriella the opportunity to go back into her depression, but she willed herself to think about other things. She carefully studied each poster that hung on the walls of the small room, pausing slightly as she gazed at one about rape victims. She shook her head and moved on to the next poster, a diagram of the different stages of pregnancy. She stood up and slowly walked over to get a better look at the twelve week stage, where she knew her baby was at. She smiled, reaching up with nimble fingers to stroke the picture of the tiny, helpless baby growing inside of its mother's stomach before holding her hand protectively over her own stomach. No matter what, she would let nothing get in the way of the love she felt for the life that was growing rapidly inside of her.

The door opened then, and she heard a familiar voice say her name. "Gabriella Montez…" the voice said. "It's been a while."

Gabriella's head whipped around to see where the voice had come from, and why it sounded so familiar. When she saw the doctor's face, she felt her stomach twist in knots and she began to feel lightheaded. "T-Troy?" she asked, her voice a weak whisper.

"I prefer Dr. Bolton," he replied, smiling. "But yes, it's me. What brings you in to see me today?"

She immediately gained some confidence and made a face at him. "Why do you think?" she asked sarcastically. She hadn't seen Troy Bolton in years. They'd broken up during their second year of college when Troy had had to transfer to a University in Boston. It hadn't been a bad breakup, but they hadn't kept in contact with each other.

"Okay, okay," he replied, sensing the annoyed tone in her voice. "So, uh, who's the lucky guy?"

She folded her arms across her chest and looked down, tears welling up in her eyes once again. "I wouldn't call him lucky," she mumbled.

"And why's that?"

"Just do whatever you need to do, Troy, and let me go home," she snapped, angrily wiping the betraying tears from her eyes with her sleeve.

"Hormones," he murmured softly, scratching something onto her chart with his pen. "It's okay, some day I will talk it out of you."

"Just fuck off, okay, Troy? It's none of your business who I fuck and who I don't."

"Gabi, Gabi, calm down. It was only a question. You don't have to tell me if you're not ready," he responded, setting her chart down on the counter. "However, I will need you to sit up here," he added, patting the bed quickly.

"Don't call me Gabi," she replied moodily as she climbed up onto the sheets and lay down.

"Then what do you suppose I should call you?" he asked.

"Gabriella. That's my name."

"Okay, then, Gab-Gabriella. Melanie showed me your chart, and it looks as if you're ready for a complete checkup," he began, sliding his hands into his gloves and preparing her for her vaginal exam. "Ready?"

She nodded, hoping that having her ex-boyfriend perform a vaginal exam on her wasn't going to be something she regretted later on. "I guess if you have to, then yes, I'm ready."

He chuckled and held out a small stuffed bear. "This helps my patients keep their minds off of what's going on down here," he explained. "Maybe you'd like to hold it?"

She smiled at him for the first time that day, taking the bear into her arms. He had always been one to care sufficiently about other people and their feelings. "Does it have a name?" she asked, giggling.

"Uh…sure he does," Troy replied, racking his brain quickly. "His name is Mr. Snuffles."

She giggled again. "Oh, okay," she said knowingly.

Ten minutes later, Troy tossed his gloves into the sink and stood up, helping her to sit up. "Good news," he said. "You look perfectly healthy. And now we're going to go down the hall to the sonogram room and have a look at your baby."

She nodded and followed him to the sonogram room. She carefully pulled her pants back on and laid back against the pillow. Troy helped her to lift her gown up enough for the machine and put on yet another pair of gloves. He took a tube and rubbed its contents on her belly to prepare her for the sonogram. She shivered, and he smirked.

"Cold?" he asked.

She nodded. "Just a little," she replied.

"Ah, it gets better," he assured her, using the hand-held contraption to her stomach. After a few moments, he smiled. "Can you hear it?"

"The heartbeat?" she asked. She nodded. "Yeah."

He smiled. "It's nice and healthy," he proclaimed. He pointed to the small screen next to her bed. "We have a nice view today. See, here's your baby's head, and down here…" he moved his hand, "are your baby's feet."

She smiled when she looked up and saw her baby moving on the screen. "What's that?" she asked, pointing to something small near the baby's mouth.

Troy zoomed in closer to examine the small obstacle. "Ah, that's its tongue," he said, laughing.

"Tongue?" she asked, giggling. "It's sticking its tongue out at me?"

He nodded. "That's how it seems," he said.

She laughed again, and within ten minutes Troy had printed out several ultrasound pictures. She reached out to take them, and smiled. "You printed the one of its tongue?" she asked.

He nodded. "That one made you smile," he replied. "And the other ones are good, too."

She smiled and stood up, changing back into her own clothes. "Thank you, Troy," she said. "I can't believe…well…I never expected to see you again, especially not as my obstetrician."

He laughed. "Well, maybe fate has brought you to my office," he teased, resting his hand on the small of her back as he guided her to the front desk. "Lauren will take care of you now, and I'll see you in a month," he said. With that, he turned and headed to the next exam room.

Gabriella stared after him in amazement. A doctor. Troy Bolton had sure made something of himself, that was evident. She couldn't help but wish that what he'd said about fate bringing her to him was true. She smiled, happy for the first time in months as she turned to the woman at the desk. Maybe her life would take a turn for the better now that she'd found the one person who had always been her refuge, her strength, her life. Maybe, just maybe, fate really had taken its turn.

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How was it? Should I continue? Please review, and try to say more than just, "update soon"? I'll love you forever, and maybe it will get me to update sooner rather than later!


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I did explain my reasoning for that in chapter one. I hope you're not too angry with me for not updating sooner, but this chapter was…difficult to grasp? Usually I write about Troy and Gabriella being in a relationship, and building only a friendship between them has been kind of tough for me. Also, I feel that I must address this fact before I continue the story: I have the most amazing reviewers in the whole world! I loved every single review I got, and as a reward, I now present to you the next chapter!

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Chapter Two:

Gabriella walked briskly down the sidewalk, en route to her apartment, her head bowed towards the ground as she thought about what had taken place just seconds beforehand. A visionary of Troy's face raced through her mind, and she couldn't help the small smile that had formed on her lips. It was really him- _her_ Troy- and she would be seeing him whenever she went to his office for a visit. It was as if her guardian angel had known how much she'd needed someone familiar in the strange new world that she now lived in. In her mind, she pictured the two of them becoming friends again, maybe having coffee together sometime. Of course, she wasn't expecting anything more. All she wanted was a friend in this forsaken city she referred to as her own personal "hell".

"Excuse me, miss?" a voice asked.

Her head snapped up, and she blushed as she realized that she was standing in line at her favorite café. "Um, hi," she said lamely.

The young man stared at her. "Can I get you anything, or are you just going to stand there?" he asked.

She winced at his harsh comment, but looked up at the menu with interest, even though she already knew what she was going to order. "Um, I'll have a small strawberry lemonade and cup of chicken noodle soup," she replied. "And a double chocolate chip cookie on the side, please."

The cashier nodded, placing her order and handing it to her when it came up. She took her tray and went to sit in her favorite corner booth. She carefully studied the painting on the wall in front of her before taking a sip of her lemonade. She made a face, reaching over to get a package of sugar from the little display bin and pouring the contents into her cup. She took another sip and smiled. Perfect.

Twenty minutes passed, and still she sat, taking her time eating her lunch. In all honesty, she didn't want to hurry up and go back her apartment. It was drab and boring; she'd had no time to decorate.

"Is running into you going to become routine now?" a humored voice interrupted her thoughts. She looked up quickly, only for her chocolate brown eyes to come in contact with his ocean blue ones. "Um, I guess so," she replied, grinning.

"I come here often on my lunch break," Troy stated. "Mind if I sit?" he asked, gesturing to the empty seat across from her in the booth.

She shook her head. "Be my guest," she offered. After he'd laid his tray on the table, she eyed his sandwich. "Um, is that a BLT?" she asked dumbly.

"It is," he replied, chuckling. "Would you like a bite?" he asked, holding it out to her.

She shook her head again. "I hate lettuce, remember?" She thought for a moment. "But it does look delicious…"

Troy grinned and ripped a piece of his sandwich off, sliding it swiftly onto her cookie plate. "Being pregnant causes you to have a change in likings and dislikings," he said. "Try it."

She wearily picked up the sandwich and took a bite. Her eyes widened in surprise. "This is the best sandwich ever!" she exclaimed.

"So I've been told," he responded, taking a bite. "Do you want one?"

She looked up at the menu, and her mouth dropped open in surprise to see the price of the sandwich by itself. "Uh…twelve dollars for a sandwich?" she choked out incredulously. "I think I'll pass."

Troy smirked. It was just like Gabriella to worry about the price. "Gabriella, this is New York. You're lucky it's that cheap," he replied.

"But…damn. I only paid ten dollars for all of this stuff," she said, gesturing towards her tray.

"Would you let me buy the sandwich, if I offered?" he asked, ignoring her comment.

She shook her head. "No, that sandwich is a waste of twelve dollars," she stated firmly.

"Gabriella, I'm a doctor. Doctors don't pay attention to the price of their food. Well, unless you go to that fancy new restaurant in Times Square, where they charge you fifty dollars for a steak," Troy teased.

Gabriella's eyes widened. "Fifty...fuck!" she exclaimed loudly. Every set of eyes in the café turned to stare at her. A deep blush crept up her cheeks and she ducked her head in embarrassment. "Fifty dollars for a steak?" she whispered.

Troy nodded solemnly. "Yes, fifty dollars."

"Who in their right mind would go there?" she asked.

"Doctors, lawyers, arrogant people with no thoughts on how to save their money pretty much," he replied, smirking. "People like me."

"You wouldn't go there if it was the last place on earth," Gabriella retorted. "I know you better than that. You'd rather starve than waste money."

"Ah, you remember me so well," he chuckled. "You're right, however, if it was for food, then it wouldn't be wasting money, am I correct?"

"Maybe," she said slowly. "But I think it would be a waste of money. Even when I do get my chance at being a lawyer."

"So you got your degree, and then…this?" he asked, gesturing towards her stomach. He raised an eyebrow. "This didn't happen on purpose, did it, Gabriella?"

She stared at him, her eyes wide and her brain working on overdrive. She wasn't ready to talk about what had happened to her that night. If she did, she would cry. And if she cried, Troy would feel bad for her. And she didn't want to look like his own personal charity case. In a spur of the moment thought, she stood up and walked over to dump her trash without replying. She turned to leave, but he grabbed her shoulder gently from behind.

"Gabriella?" he asked, shocked at her reaction to his simple question. "You can tell me anything," he added. "I'm your doctor. I need to know anyway, for medical purposes."

"You don't need to know my personal business, Troy," she snapped. "I thought we went over this at your office."

"Gabriella," he pleaded. "Please. Maybe I can help you."

"I don't fucking need your help, Troy, now please, just leave me alone. I'll come to your office for visits, but we don't interact outside of the whole "doctor" thing, okay?" she hissed.

"But Gabi-"

"Don't call me Gabi," she whispered. "You lost the right to call me that when we broke up." Her eyes filled with tears, and she turned and walked briskly out the door.

Within minutes, she was unlocking the door to her apartment. She walked in, slamming the door behind her. Throwing her purse down on the table, she ran the memories of the past through her mind over and over. She sunk down into a chair, rested her head on the table, and started to cry.

_Why does life have to be so unfair?_ she thought to herself. _Every time something good happens to me, I have to ruin it by being a bitch. _

As she sat and contemplated her thoughts, there was a soft knock on the door. She looked up timidly, knowing who it was. She sighed, but stood up and looked through her peep hole. Sure enough, Troy Bolton was standing there, looking down at his shoes. Gabriella took a deep breath and unlocked the door. He'd followed her, and she knew that she would feel bad for sending him all the way back to his office without even inviting him for a glass of water.

"Come in," she called, her voice trembling.

The door was nudged open, and her eyes met his as soon as he'd stepped through the doorframe. "I'm sorry," he said. "It must be a sensitive subject for you. Especially since you just ran twenty blocks to get away from answering my question. It's okay, we don't have to talk about it right now. Whenever you're ready, I'm here."

Gabriella nodded. "Do you want some water?" she asked bluntly.

He smiled. "Sure, water sounds good at the moment," he replied.

She took two glasses from the cupboard and filled with water from her new water cooler. She handed one of them to him and motioned towards the couch. "We can sit, if you'd like," she offered.

Troy took a sip of his water and walked over to sit. "This is a pretty comfy couch," he commented.

"That was my birthday present from my mom," she admitted. "I didn't pick it out."

"Your mother always had a good taste in furniture," he chuckled. "How is she, anyway?"

"She's good. She still lives in Albuquerque, her company never relocated her. She met a guy, and they're getting married next year," Gabriella said, smiling for the first time since he'd arrived. "Ever since I found out I was pregnant, I've been trying to be like her. But I guess it's not meant to be."

"But you're still the same Gabriella I knew in high school," he said gently. "You're headstrong, and you can be a bitch when you want to." He laughed at his latest comment.

Gabriella's mouth dropped open. "Yeah, well, you're still a jock," she retorted.

"Yeah, that's not a good comeback," he teased.

She stuck her tongue out at him before she sighed and her face became serious again. "Troy, why'd you follow me home?"

He sighed as well, but said, "Gabriella, when you walked into my office, every single memory of you flooded my mind. You'd always been the good girl, the smartest person at East High. When I saw that you were pregnant, I just…well, I was curious. But obviously you've shown me that you're not ready to talk about whatever's been going on, and I respect that."

"You didn't answer my question," she snipped. "I wanted to know why you came here after I was such a bitch at the café."

"I was hoping…that we could be friends again," he said, blushing. "Just friends, like we used to be. Like kindergarten, when you'd meet someone, and become friends…remember that speech you gave me? That's been running through my mind ever since I first saw you this morning. Do you think we could be friends again?"

Gabriella considered the thought for a moment. It would be nice, to have at least one friend in New York. One person she could turn to for help. She hesitated, but finally nodded. "Yeah, I would like that. Just friends, though. Nothing more."

He grinned. "Just friends," he repeated. "Can a friend give a friend a hug?"

"I guess so," she said, smiling.

They laughed together as his arms wrapped around her. "I'm glad we're friends again," he whispered in her ear.

"Me too, Troy, me too," she whispered back.

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It was kind of short, but I'm going to try making the other chapters longer, and stretch the story out more. Reviews are like sex; the more I get, the sooner I will feel like doing more. (;


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! They're great, and if you could give me some advice or ideas for the story, I would greatly appreciate your help! Who else is totally excited that HSM3 comes out on DVD in just one week?! I know I am! I love all of the Troyella bits, they inspire my writing! So if you're lucky, you'll get more updates after I watch it a few times. School is stressing me out, blah, blah, blah…my hamster died last Thursday, I had the flu this past weekend…so I've been having a hard time this week. Even with all of the things going on in my life, I'm trying to make this story as enjoyable as possible and hopefully I'm going to be updating enough to keep to keep some fans. Enough of my excessive blabbing, and on to the story!

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Chapter Three:

"So, Miss Gabriella, what have you been up to since I've spoken to you last?" Troy asked, slurping obnoxiously on the last bit of water in his cup. "Besides the baby and stuff, unless you're ready to tell me what happened."

"I'm not ready to talk about that yet, Troy. I will someday, but not right now. Well, I graduated from Stanford this past spring. I've dated around, but I haven't found that special someone yet," she said, blushing slightly before smiling. "I went to visit my parents at the beginning of the summer, but when I went back home to San Francisco…" she paused, trying to find a way to word her next statement without turning the dull memory in her head to a burning picture. "I decided…that I wanted to see the world. I ended up here," she continued, gesturing to her surroundings. "And that's about it."

"Ah," Troy said. "That's good. Do you work around your building? Or do you have to take the subway?"

Gabriella looked down at her hands. "I, um…I don't have a job," she mumbled.

"You don't have a job?" he repeated, stunned. "How are you paying for this apartment? And buying groceries?"

She shook her head. "I'm using the money from my trust fund for now. Hopefully I'll get a job before I run out of money. I've applied at a few restaurants and stores, but apparently no one wants a single pregnant woman working for them. Perhaps they figure that I'll try to take advantage of my becoming a single mother and ask for a raise or something," she said.

"Gabriella, they can't use that against you. I'm going to help you find a job. And for now, you're going to come home with me. I have a guest room, you can stay there. When you're up on your feet, you can leave, but until then, I'm holding you hostage." He laughed a little.

"Oh…Troy, I couldn't possibly…I won't take advantage of your home. I'm fine here, really," she replied, stumbling over her words.

"No protesting," he said authoritatively. "You need a real place. I mean, look at this. Cobwebs in the corner, no television? You deserve so much more than this shabby little apartment. As your friend, I insist that you come stay with me."

"But…but I…Troy, I don't want to be a burden," she whispered.

"A burden? Gabriella, if anything, having you as my guest will be good for me. A guy gets lonely all by himself, after all." He smirked.

She sighed. "I'll come on one condition," she said.

"What's that?" he asked.

"You have to promise me…and I mean truly _promise_…that it won't interfere with our 'just friends' thing." She glanced up at him through her long lashes, waiting for his answer.

He hesitated, but nodded. "I promise," he vowed.

She smiled. "Good, because I'm not worth bothering with anymore, and don't try to make me take that back."

Troy's puzzled look burned a hole through her heart, but she shook her head, and he sighed quietly. He wasn't going to counteract her argument, not right now, when their friendship had just reformed itself.

"So what about you?" she asked. "Tell me about what you've been up to."

Troy thought for a moment and began. "Well, I graduated from the Boston University School of Medicine a few years ago. I moved to New York and here I am, Dr. Troy Bolton, OB/GYN."

Gabriella giggled. "Obviously. I mean…have you met anyone special yet?" she asked.

He blushed, but shook his head. "No, I've been holding out for that special someone. I haven't seemed to have any luck finding her."

"Oh," Gabriella whispered, biting her bottom lip softly. She was deep in thought. "What made you want to be an OB/GYN?" she continued, wanting to avoid anymore conversation about relationships.

He smiled. "That's easy. Remember when my sister had her baby while we were on vacation?"

"How could I forget?" Gabriella asked, her eyes sparkling. "You were the hero, and I was the one cowering in the corner. I still don't remember how that happened," she added, laughing.

"Yes, well, a few months after Caightlen was born, when UC was trying to convince me to do the impossible- a.k.a. leave you in California and pursue a degree in Boston- my sister reminded me how happy she was that I was there to help that night. So I considered my options, and although it pained me greatly to leave you, I thought...well, I thought we could do the whole 'long distance' thing. That way, I could've had both of my loves. But I got so caught up with schooling, and you were busy at Stanford, we just…grew apart. I was upset that I hadn't been able to handle our relationship cross-country, so I thought it would be helpful if I pursued something where I would come across women often…I was hoping I would find someone who was as special to me as you were, but I never found her, as I said before."

Gabriella blushed and looked down at her feet, tears welling up in her eyes. "Troy, please don't wait for me. I'm sure there's someone out there who's much better than I am."

"Gabriella…"

She stood up and walked toward her bedroom. "I can't talk about our past right now. There are too many memories that I wish weren't memories because I wish they were reality. Lock the door on your way out." She closed her bedroom door, and he followed, waiting and listening as she started to sob.

"Gabriella, I didn't mean to bring back memories," he pleaded. "I'm sorry. Please, give me a chance to fix this. Friends, just friends. I wasn't implying that…we should…get back together or anything," he stuttered. In all honesty, all he wanted was for her to be happy. As her friend, he wanted to make sure that she had all of the happiness the world could offer. "Come on, I'll take you to the house and show you the guest room. At that point, I'll let you decide if you want to stay with me or not."

After a few moments, her bedroom door opened and he saw her gleaming smile. "Where in the world did you find a house in New York City?" she asked softly.

He smirked. "It's in the ritzy part of the city," he retorted. "Come on, I'll show you."

She wiped her eyes and grabbed her purse. "Okay, I'll come. But you can't force me to stay with you, you know," she said.

"I'm not full of myself, but trust me, when you see my house, you'll never want to leave," Troy said, winking at her.

She rolled her eyes and pulled him out the door after her.

* * *

"Okay, Dr. Bolton, where to?" she asked, stepping to the curb to hail a cab.

"Well, first I have to go back to the office to wrap things up for the day," he explained. "I won't have any patients, unless there's an absolute emergency because Dr. Gifford comes in after lunch on Wednesday's."

"Oh?" she asked. "Okay, then, sir, take us to…" she looked up at Troy, who proceeded to give the cab driver directions.

"It won't take long, I promise," Troy assured her. "Ten, fifteen minutes max."

"It's fine," she said, smiling at him. "I'm not going to die of boredom or anything," she added.

He smirked and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "My best friend is back," he noted.

"Haha, maybe I'm not really Gabriella," she mused. "Maybe I'm an evil witch and I'm trying to make you think that I'm your crazy best friend, when in all reality, she's really back in California."

Troy looked taken aback for a moment. "Well, I never really thought of it that way…" he began.

Gabriella's laughter interrupted his thought. "Wow, for a doctor, you're not very smart, you know," she teased. "Of course I'm Gabriella. Who else would I be?"

"I beg your pardon, Miss Gabriella, but making fun of your doctor is not a very nice gesture," Troy said in defense.

She giggled and snuggled back into the seat of the cab. "I've missed this," she whispered. "I've missed being able to be myself around you. I've missed being around you. I've missed being your best friend."

"Well, I'm here now, aren't I?" he asked, looking her in the eyes.

"Yes," she said, smiling her genuine Gabriella Montez smile. "Yes you are."

"And I can promise you that you'll never be without your best friend again," he stated. "Because I don't think I could handle it, and I know that you sure as hell wouldn't be able to handle it."

Her jaw dropped. "Excuse me?" she asked playfully. "I think- no, I _know_- that I could handle it. But you're right about yourself."

"I don't mean to interrupt your little love fest back there, but we've arrived at your destination," the cab driver announced.

"Love fest?" Gabriella murmured. "Does it really sound like we're having a love fest, Troy?" she whispered.

"No," he whispered back. "He just wants us to get out."

"Well, I know that, Smart One," she retorted, grinning as she said the words. "Now get your ass out of the vehicle and march." She reached around him and opened the door, pushing him gently to get him moving.

"I'm going, I'm going," he said. "Stop being pushy."

"I wouldn't have to be pushy if you weren't being so lazy."

"Oh, it's on," he warned, winking at her. "It's definitely on now."

Her laughter rang out into the street as she paid the driver and followed him to his office building. "So you think," she said under her breath. "It's not over until someone calls a truce. And you, my friend, will be the one calling for it."

"We'll see," he teased. He led her to his office, where he greeted the nurses. He held up a finger to Gabriella, signaling that she should stay where she was, and went behind the desk. He came out a few moments later with Lauren, the nurse who'd taken care of Gabriella's bill earlier that afternoon. "Gabriella, Lauren will keep you company while I take care of a few things," he said, picking up his clipboard and walking towards his small office in the back.

Gabriella turned to the young woman Troy had introduced to her earlier. "Um, hello again," she said nervously.

"Hello, Miss Montez," Lauren chirped.

Gabriella smiled. "Please, call me Gabriella. Miss Montez makes me sound old."

Lauren laughed, but nodded. "Okay, then, Gabriella. So, how do you know Dr. Bolton?"

"Well," Gabriella began. "I met him a long time ago, at a New Year's Eve party in Utah. My mom and I were moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and little did I know that Troy attended the same high school that I was going to be attending. We've been friends ever since, barring the time he spent here and I was in California," she said. "It's kind of a fate thing, I guess." She'd purposely left out the fact that she and Troy had dated for three years before he'd moved here. She didn't figure that it was a necessary fact to tell someone she'd just met.

"Wow, that's pretty awesome," Lauren countered. She was listening intently to Gabriella's every word, her eyes sparkling as she heard the story. "What happened after that? After he came here and you were still in California, I mean." She looked knowingly at the small bulge in Gabriella's stomach.

Gabriella smiled weakly. "I don't really like talking about that," she mumbled.

"Oh," Lauren whispered. "I wouldn't tell him, if that's what you mean. I promise. You can trust me."

Gabriella sighed as she looked into the woman's eyes. She had a feeling about her, a feeling that she really could trust her. But she'd never spoken of the incident to anyone. Not even her mother. "Well, I suppose someone has to know," she said slowly. "Please, please, if I tell you, you have to promise that however much you want to tell him, you won't."

"I promise," Lauren urged. "Anything you tell me will be held confidential."

Gabriella took a deep breath and began her story. "It was a rainy afternoon, and I was walking home from a class. Somehow I took a wrong turn, so I was trying to find my way back to my dorm when I saw someone from one of my classes. I called out to him to ask for directions." She stopped, looking down at her hands for a moment. "And then he grabbed me…and…well, he…he…" her voice cracked a little as she continued, "he raped me."

There was a clattering as a clipboard dropped to the floor. Gabriella's head whipped around to see what had happened, and her eyes took in a shocked Troy Bolton, who had frozen in his place.

_Shit_, she thought to herself. _He heard everything. He knows_.

* * *

DUNDUNDUN! Okay, so now Troy knows her secret. How will he react? Please feel free to express your feelings about this chapter. Personally, I don't think it was my best. In fact, it was pretty blah, so if you enjoyed it, kudos to you! (: Reviews are appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4

Okay, I'm going to start by apologizing for my lack of updates. School's taking up a lot of time, and so I can't write stories very much right now because I'm writing papers for my English and Creative Writing classes. Um, so yes, I don't own anything but the plot, and that's it. Also, I have decided to make Troy call Gabriella Ella rather than Gabi. A lot of the time I use Gabi or Brie, but I think Ella is cuter and better fits her for this story. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Oh, by the way, your reviews, as always: AMAZING! I love you guys!

* * *

Chapter Four:

Lauren was the first to move; she darted forward and snatched Troy's clipboard from the floor and took it back into the office, obviously trying to give Troy and Gabriella some privacy to talk about the situation.

"T-Troy?" Gabriella began, her voice barely above a whisper.

It was a few moments before Troy was able to muster up a reply. "Who?" he asked.

"Who what?" She bit her lip. She knew what he meant.

"Who did this to you?"

She looked down at her hands again. "He told me not to tell-"

"Tell me, Gabriella. Tell me right now." His facial features failed to relax; his eyes were full of rage. It kind of reminded Gabriella of how she pictured Edward Cullen when someone was threatening Bella.

"I can't," she whispered.

"Damn it, tell me!" he snarled.

"He threatened to kill me!" she hissed. "That's why I can't tell you. He'll come looking for me. And besides…he doesn't know about the baby. He'd hurt it, he'd kill it, too, Troy."

"Come on, Gabriella, you can tell me. I won't let him near you."

She shook her head, wiping the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. "No."

"Gabriella, I'll have Lauren call the cops and they'll find him. You need to tell me so we can press charges."

"Troy," she said, her eyes pleading. "If I tell you…he'll come here."

"And they'll catch him before he can lay a finger on you or this child," Troy assured her.

"Promise?" she asked in a small voice.

"I promise," he replied. "Now, what's his name?"

"His name is Ryan…" she began. "I don't remember his last name."

"Okay," Troy said. "Well, they can find his records at Stanford. What class did you have together?"

"Biochemistry," she said immediately. That's all she could remember of him, barring the horrible experience she'd had with him.

"Lauren?" Troy called. He'd calmed down, and was now sitting next to Gabriella. Lauren stuck her head out from the office. "Call the NYPD. Ask them if they can help us find this guy." Lauren nodded and disappeared back into the office. They listened while she spoke with the police department.

"Troy, what if they don't find him in time?" Gabriella whispered. Her hands were shaking as she wrapped her arms protectively around her stomach.

"Don't you worry, Gabriella, I'm going to do the best that I can to keep you safe, and the NYPD will do the same. Nothing's going to happen. I promise. Do you trust me?" Troy's blue eyes bore into hers as he spoke.

She nodded hesitantly. "I guess I have to," she replied. "My life depends on it."

He smiled a little. "You do realize that you're coming to live with me now, no matter what, right?"

She nodded. "I figured you'd say that," she replied, sighing. "But the thing is, I really don't want to be a burden. You have so many other things to worry about, and my being there only gives you more to fuss over."

"Gabriella, you're not going to be a burden. How many times do I have to tell you that for you to believe me?"

"Two-thousand one-hundred twenty-three," she replied immediately.

Troy was silenced immediately when she said that number. His mind flashed back to the night the Wildcats had won the Championship during their senior year. That was the number of hours they'd had left before they departed for college. That was also the night they'd first made love to each other. "You remember?" he whispered.

"Of course I do, Troy," she said softly. "How could I forget?"

"I didn't think you could," he whispered. "Nor that you would."

"Dr. Bolton?" a voice asked from the entryway. Troy and Gabriella both looked up immediately and found three police officers standing before them. "Are you Dr. Bolton?" the one who had spoken before asked. Troy nodded. The officer continued, "And you are…Miss Gabriella Montez?" He looked to Gabriella, who nodded silently. "I'm Officer Daniels. It is to my understanding that you are pregnant as a result of rape, Miss Montez?"

Gabriella nodded again, looking at Troy for support. "Yes, sir," she said quietly.

Troy took the opportunity to butt in. "Can you find the man who did this to her?" he demanded.

Officer Daniels nodded. "We're going to try our best. You know what they say: your best is all you can give. And at this point, we really don't have enough information to capture him. However, if you can help us out a bit and give us a play by play of the incident, perhaps we can gather more clues," he explained, still watching Gabriella with curious eyes. "Would you be comfortable doing so?"

"Well, if it's going to help, of course," she said. "I just want to know that my baby and I are going to be safe. Please tell me that you'll keep us safe."

"We're going to do what we can, but we're going to need help. I have been informed that Dr. Bolton has offered you a room at his home. Is this true?"

"Yes," Troy stated. "She's going to be staying with me until this guy is behind bars, whether she likes it or not."

"Okay. Gabriella, do you feel comfortable enough with Dr. Bolton to stay with him?"

"Oh, yes," Gabriella replied wholeheartedly. "He and I were best friends in high school." When she saw the instant look on the man's face, she quickly added, "It's a long story."

"Well, how about you start with the night you were raped, and we'll go from there?" the officer suggested.

His emerald green eyes bore into her chocolate brown ones, and she glanced over to meet Troy's cerulean blue ones. She sighed and winced at the word _rape_. She still wasn't very comfortable with it, but she knew that she ought to overcome her fears. It was the only way they could assure her and her baby's safety. She took a deep breath and began. "It was…March 21st, late in the evening. I'd forgotten my Biochemistry book in the science lab, and even though it was dark, because I had the final to study for, I went back to get it. I know I shouldn't have gone alone, but my roommate was sick with the flu, and I didn't want to drag her out into the cool air and rain. I threw on my raincoat and walked all the way across campus to the science lab. I ran upstairs, grabbed my book, and went back down. There was a small class letting out on the first floor, so I decided to follow them out so I wouldn't be alone. But they went out a side door that I'd never used before, so when I got outside, I couldn't tell where I was. The class got onto a bus, going to dinner, I suppose, and I stood there for a few minutes, helpless and alone. Finally I just started walking. I rounded a corner and saw Ryan…"

"Now Ryan is the man who raped you, correct?" Officer Daniels interrupted.

"Yes, sir."

"Very well," he replied, jotting down a note or two in his notebook. "Go on, please."

"I saw Ryan, who was in my Biochem class. I'd known him for a couple of months, I guess. Since January. It was assuring to see a familiar face, so I went over and started talking to him. I asked him if he knew how I would get back to the girls' dorms, and he offered to walk me back. I didn't want to be alone, so I agreed to let him."

"And now you feel that your decision wasn't very smart," Officer Daniels suggested.

"Of course not. Am I free to continue?" At the officer's nod, she began again. "He walked me to my room, and I thanked him. I had just started to unlock my door when he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the staircase that led up to the roof. I asked him what we were doing, but all he said was that he wanted to show me something. I tried to protest, but he was too strong."

"How hard was he holding onto your wrist, Miss Montez?"

"Well, uhm…"

"Did he leave bruises?"

"Just small ones, but they weren't serious…"

"Ma'am, in a rape or murder case, every detail is serious. Even the faintest of bruises should be reported."

"Oh," she said quietly. "Anyway, I tried getting away, but he pulled me all the way to the roof. For a few minutes, we just talked and looked at the stars. But then he pulled me close to him and kissed me. I kind of knew at this point what was happening, but I was too tired and too wet and too weak to defend myself. He pinned me against the side of the building and…" She stopped here, her eyes welling up with tears. She was still so sensitive to the topic; she couldn't bring herself to continue. She felt Troy take her hand and give it a reassuring squeeze. She took a deep breath and tried again. "Well, he felt up my skirt at first, but then he pushed it up around my waist. I tried to scream for help, but it was no use. He was already…you know. And when it was over…"

"Hold on, just one moment, please." Officer Daniels was scribbling fiercely in his notebook and finally he looked up at her. "One quick question. How long did the actual rape take place?"

Gabriella thought carefully for a minute before replying. "Probably fifteen or twenty minutes," she guessed. She sighed and murmured under her breath, "The worst twenty minutes of my life."

Troy's arm wrapped protectively around her and he whispered into her ear, "I'm so sorry, Ella." She rested her head against his shoulder.

"Okay, Miss Montez. Can you describe this Ryan for us?" Officer Daniels asked.

"Well…" she began. "He's tall, very tall. He's mixed race. He has brown eyes and brown hair. He has a small scar over his left eye, and a tattoo of a dragon on his right bicep. That's all I remember."

"Very well, then. I'm sure with the scar and the tattoo, we'll be able to identify him quickly. Best of wishes, Miss Montez. We'll keep in touch to inform you about our search."

"Thank you, Officer," Gabriella said. Her whole body was shaking. Troy's arms still held her close to him, and he squeezed her hand a little.

"Everything's going to be okay," he whispered. He kissed the top of her head. "Cross my heart and hope to die, nothing will happen to you or that baby."

"Don't hope to die," she mustered weakly. "That makes me feel worse."

"I'm sorry," he replied quickly. After a few minutes, he stood up. "Come along, we'll pack your things and head on over to the house. As soon as you're settled in, we'll go have dinner. Sound good?"

She nodded meekly. "Thank you so much for everything you've done, Troy."

"Hey, what are friends for?" he smirked. He winked at her, and his eyes sparkled.

Gabriella smiled. There was nothing, no one better than a best friend to get you through the hard times. This was definitely one of her hardest times, and Troy was her absolute best friend. She knew she would be safe with him, and that nothing would happen as long as he was around. He was her own special guardian angel, and she knew it. She looked up into his gorgeous eyes, and her heart began to melt. Was this supposed to happen? Was she supposed to feel butterflies in her stomach when she was around her best friend? Her senses told her that the answer was a definite no. Maybe, though…just maybe, she was starting to develop feelings for him again.

* * *

Reviews would be great! (: As you can see, there may be a few feelings developing between Troy and Gabriella, but don't get too excited just yet. I'm holding off on their relationship for as long as I can, to make the story longer and more interesting. Just keep in mind that EVENTUALLY, they will get back together, or else there wouldn't be a point to this story or to the Troyella pairing I promised in the summary. (:


	5. Chapter 5

Good news, guys! Summer is finally upon us! Well, finally upon me is more like it, because I know a lot of you are still in school. Sorry for the long break in between chapters. I hope you enjoy this one! Again, thanks for the reviews! By the way, if you send me PMs, I won't reply because I never check my emails anymore. Sorry about that. Also, I've decided to change it up a little bit and have Troy and Gabriella's relationship build up more quickly, since I'm starting to think this story is going to be shorter than I'd hoped it would be. I don't like using a lot of filler chapters when you guys probably just want me to get the point anyway. :)

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Chapter Five:

"Troy, where should I put this?" Gabriella was standing in the middle of Troy's living room with a large box full of pictures and home videos from her past. A bit of dust flew off the bottom of the box, and she promptly sneezed. She giggled, setting the box down on the floor.

Troy looked up from where he was standing and gently set her computer on the couch before walking over and picking up her box. "What did I tell you about bringing in these heavy boxes, Gabriella?" he asked with a smirk.

"Heavy boxes could harm the baby," she mimicked. "I know, I know. But I just want to get all of my stuff moved in so I can take a nap." She yawned. "I'm so tired."

"Well…" Troy began. He picked her up bridal style and carried her to her bedroom.

She laughed when he scooped her up and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Troy!" she exclaimed. "Put me down. I'm perfectly capable of walking myself to my room." He didn't appear to have heard her, so she continued. "Troy!"

"What?" he asked innocently as he sat her down on her bed.

She shook her head. "You know what."

"No, tell me again. What?"

"I can walk to my room myself. I'm a big girl."

The pout on her face resembled everything but being a big girl. A little girl, maybe. An innocent, naive, non-deserving girl with the child of a monster growing inside of her. Troy tried to shove the thought from his mind as he grabbed a blanket out of the closet and walked back to her bed. He looked into her warm, chocolate brown eyes. They were full of a feeling Troy'd never seen before- at least, not in her eyes. "Here," he said distractedly, wrapping the blanket around her. "If you need anything, just holler."

He'd barely set his foot outside the door when he heard her voice. "Troy?" He turned to look at her. "Are you okay?" she asked.

He smiled. Her motherly instincts were already beginning to set in. "I'm fine," he replied. "Actually, I should be asking you that question."

"I'm fine, too," she said. "Perfectly fine."

"Okay, well, again, if you need anything-"

"-just holler," she finished his sentence for him. "I know." She smiled and nuzzled her face into her pillow. "I'll be sure to bitch at you if I need anything."

Troy laughed. "Okay, then," he said. "I'll just be downstairs watching something manly, like football or something," he added.

Gabriella grinned as he closed her bedroom door. "But Troy, you hate football," she murmured softly as she drifted off to sleep.

* * *

While Gabriella slept, Troy sat at the kitchen table with the box she'd left on the floor. He knew it wasn't right to snoop through her things, but the temptation was nipping at his curiosity. He carefully lifted the lid off the box and placed it in the chair next to him. He closed his eyes, trying to fight the urge to look inside. This action didn't help him a bit. He re-opened them and took out the medium-sized envelope on the top. His finger slid under the lip and pulled out the varsity E he'd given to her just before senior year began. "She kept this?" he asked himself silently. He turned it over in his hand and, written in her small, elegant script, were the words _Troy's Championship letter- Junior Year- 2007. _It _was_ his Championship letter- the letter he'd gotten after he'd led the Wildcats to the Championship against West High. He smiled as he placed the letter back into its envelope and laid it on top of the lid.

Underneath the envelope was a photo album. He pushed a few papers off the table and set the book atop it. He opened to the first page of pictures- Gabriella's baby pictures. He stared at the little bundle of joy that smiled out at him from the page. She'd been such a happy baby. And a cute one at that. He grinned as he turned to the next page. Her first birthday party was displayed there. In one picture, she sat on her father's lap, a small pink bow from one of her presents positioned awkwardly in her curly brown hair. In another, she was sticking both of her hands into her cake; her clothes, her face, almost every inch of her tiny body covered with frosting. Troy chuckled at this and continued flipping through the book. One picture in particular caught his eye. Gabriella was standing with a little boy on a playground. Behind the two children was a woman holding a sign that read _Mrs. Stone's Full Day Kindergarten_. He stopped, picturing the day he'd asked her about kindergarten. _"Do you remember in kindergarten, how you'd meet a kid, and know nothing about them, then ten seconds later you'd be playing like you were best friends, because you didn't have to be anyone but yourself?" _Gabriella's words echoed in Troy's mind.

_I do remember_, he thought to himself. _But it wasn't the first day of kindergarten. It was the day I met you…_ He stared at the photo a little longer before he finally turned the page again. He felt a tugging at his heart. It was a pleasant tugging, like…like he'd imprinted on her or something. He shook his head. He really needed to stop reading books about vampires and werewolves and human girls torn between them. _Troy stop thinking about her that way,_ he scolded himself._ She probably doesn't even like you anymore. Not the way she used to. Not even almost like she used to. Maybe not even as a best friend. Just as a…a…a jerk who never returned her phone calls or tried to get her back. _His heart dropped when he reminded himself of the stupid things he'd done. He sighed and closed the book. He placed it back into the box and slid the box to the floor. _Why am I so stupid?_

After a few moments of staring at the wall, he got up, grabbed a can of Coca-Cola from the fridge, and went to the living room to watch television. He flipped through the channels quickly, pausing for seconds at a time, only to regret even turning the damn thing on. It was soap opera time. He didn't want to watch a soap opera. Hell, he was practically living one himself. The man sees the woman of his dreams, his high school sweetheart, come into his office, pregnant by some son of a bitch who was probably tracking her down right now to murder her. He turned the television off in disgust and sat there, drinking his soda. He felt the cushion next to him shift, and he looked down to see his dog, Lilah, staring up at him with hopeful eyes. She lay next to him, her paws on his lap, and rested her head against them. He ran his hand along her soft fur as he spoke to her.

"The life of a dog must be wonderful," he murmured. "Not a care in the world. All you have to worry about is whether or not I'm going to feed you bacon for breakfast in the morning. Why can't I be like you?" Lilah's ears perked up at the word bacon, and she licked his hand eagerly. He chuckled. "Sorry, girl. We ran out of bacon this morning, remember? We'll have to go get some later."

Lilah barked happily and jumped down from the couch. She pawed at his knee, looked over toward the window and then back up at him. "Not now. Let's wait for Gabriella to come with us. That way she can pick out some of the things that she likes." His eyes lit up. "But we can go for a ride," he added. "Come on, girl." He grabbed his keys and ushered her out the door.

He drove around town until he found the place he was looking for. "I'll be back in a few minutes," he told the dog before he got out. With a smile on his face, he headed inside.

* * *

Less than an hour later, Troy returned home with a small box. He stashed the box in the room with her other boxes and went to the fridge in search of something he could make for dinner. He wanted Gabriella to feel right at home when she woke up from her nap. He figured this would be a good start. He sighed. He slammed the door shut and took a pen from his pocket. On a piece of paper, he wrote, _Buy actual groceries from now on_. He stuck the note into his pocket. Oh, well. They'd just have to go out for one night. Still, he scolded himself. He knew that Gabriella preferred home cooked meals over restaurant food. But there was nothing he could do about it now. She'd been sleeping for close to two hours. She'd be waking up soon.

He busied himself by tidying up the living room and brushing Lilah. It wasn't long before he heard a stirring behind him. He turned around quickly, and his breath caught in his throat. Gabriella stood at the bottom of the stairs in one of his t-shirts. Her legs were bare; the shirt only just covered her panties. He had seen her dressed like this many times, when she used to secretly spend the night with him and she hadn't remembered pajamas. His mind wandered momentarily to what had usually happened when he saw her like dressed in one of his shirts. He shook his head and grinned. "Did you sleep well?" he asked, trying to get the image out of his head before he would have to excuse himself to take care of a little problem.

She nodded sleepily. "I did," she replied. "Did you enjoy your football game?"

Her smile was gorgeous enough to dazzle him for the evening, but he forced himself to focus. He grinned sheepishly at her. "You don't honestly think I was watching football, do you?" he asked.

She shook her head. "Not at all. You hate football. You hate every sport besides basketball. You didn't fool me."

He laughed. "Of course not. No one can fool the all-mighty Gabriella Montez."

Her cheeks flushed a bright pink color and she laughed with him. "If that's how you think of it. So what _have_ you been doing, if you weren't doing what you said you were going to do?"

"Well, I was going to make dinner, but I looked around my kitchen and decided that we'd better go out tonight. And then we could stop at the grocery store and grab some real food."

"It doesn't surprise me at all, Troy Bolton, that you didn't have any food in the house. You never did. I mean, all you ever used to eat was macaroni and cheese." She laughed at the memory of his dorm room at the University of California and his multitudes of boxes of macaroni and cheese. "And the off chance that you might have ordered a pizza or two."

"Hey, now, don't criticize my mad skills with the stove," he teased, laughing.

"I never said that I didn't like it," she replied, winking at him.

"Good. And since I don't have any macaroni and cheese right now…where do you want to eat dinner?"

"I'm not really hungry …" she began.

"Gabriella, the baby needs to eat. Which means that you need to eat. Where to?" he persisted.

"Fine, she complained. "Um, why don't you choose? I've never really been anywhere except the deli where we had lunch."

Troy thought for a moment. "Well, there's…do you like Chinese?"

She nodded. "Chinese sounds good."

"Let's go to Empress of China. You'll love it there."

"Okay," she agreed. "I'll go get ready." She was only halfway up the stairs when she turned around. "I left my clothes down here," she admitted sheepishly. "I borrowed your t-shirt to come downstairs in because my clothes were wet."

"Wet?" he asked, confused.

"Yeah…I, um, I accidentally turned the shower water on too high and…you probably know the rest."

He laughed. "Ahh, that shower. I should have it looked at. I'm sorry about that," he said sympathetically."

"It's okay. I just went into your room and stole this from your closet after I finished my shower," she said, grinning. "I figured you wouldn't mind."

He stared at her for a moment. If she'd gone into his room after her shower, she'd probably just been wrapped up in a towel…_Damn it, Troy, stop that!_ He shook his head. "Of course not. Be my guest. Steal my clothing whenever you feel like it."

She giggled. "I'll take that as permission to do so." She rummaged through one of her boxes before she pulled out what she'd been looking for. She grabbed her purse and went back up to her room.

Ten minutes passed before she came back down the stairs in a white sundress and sandals. "Is this appropriate?" she asked him shyly.

For the second time that day, Troy's mind wandered. "Uh, it's perfect," he replied, finding his voice again. "Ready to go, then?"

She nodded. "Ready as I'll ever be," she replied.

He smiled and opened the door for her. "Then off we go."

* * *

Inside the restaurant, Troy ushered Gabriella to his favorite table. "It's close enough to the food so you can smell it, and close enough to the window so you can see out the window," he explained as they sat down.

The waitress came over with two glasses of water. After she'd set them on the table, she handed each of them a menu. "Can I get either of you a drink or anything?" she asked, smiling at them.

Troy spoke first. "I'm just going to drink water tonight."

Gabriella nodded in agreement. "Same here."

"Okay, then. I'll be back in a few to get your order."

Gabriella sifted through the menu before looking up at Troy. "What's the best thing you've had here?" she asked him. "I can't decide what I want."

"Well…the orange chicken bowl is pretty good. And their chicken and beef fried rice is the best in town."

"What are you going to have?"

"I'm going to go with the fried rice," he decided. "I haven't had it in a long time."

She laughed. "Then I'll go with the orange chicken bowl and steal some of your rice," she concluded.

The waitress returned and took their order. Fifteen minutes later, she brought their food and left them to eat. Gabriella had just eaten her last bite of chicken when she dropped her fork to the table and stared across the restaurant in horror.

"Gabriella?" Troy asked impatiently. "What's wrong? What is it?" She pointed shakily to a table near the rear of the restaurant, and Troy turned to look. A man and a woman were at the table, talking. "What about them?" he pressed.

"It's…it's…it's him," she managed to whisper. She bent her head towards the table when the man looked up and met Troy's gaze. "I want to go home," she pleaded quietly.

Troy's brain registered the information now. "Ryan?" he whispered, turning to her. She nodded. "Shit," he cursed under his breath.

The man had excused himself from his table and was quickly approaching them. "Gabriella, when I say go, I want you to run to the restroom and call 911. Can you do that for me?"

She nodded weakly. Truthfully, she wasn't sure if she was going to be able to move her legs at all. She reached for her purse under the table and fumbled around for her phone. Her hand brushed against her pepper spray first, and she grasped that as well. She pulled her hand out and readjusted the two items in her hands. She looked up and instantly regretted it.

The tall man had reached their table quicker than they had anticipated. "Gabriella Montez," he said with a dark smile on his face. His scar illuminated off the lamps in the dimly lit room. "It's been awhile."

* * *

Definitely not my favorite chapter, but I was stuck on this one for a long time. Literally, it took me probably a month and a half to write this chapter because I kept hating what I'd written and re-doing it. Let me know what you think! :)


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